266 



MAR 



MAR 



buried in the soil ; even in this 

 case, it will not fertilize the soil so 

 much the first year as afterwards. 

 Some marles do not produce their 

 full tflfect till the third year, as 

 they dissolve slowly. Some say 

 the good eflftct of one full dressing 

 with marie will last thirty years. 



As good soils may be overdone 

 with this manure, it is better to 

 err at first in laying on too little 

 than too much. More may be 

 added at any time. As the princi- 

 pal elTects <jf marie are like those 

 of lime, it is nol to be expected 

 that marling a second time will 

 have so good an eflfect as the first. 

 This observation is said to be con- 

 firmed by experience. 



There is another sort of marie 

 no less valuable than the former 

 kind ; and much used in old coun- 

 tries. It is composed chiefly of 

 broken shells, which were undoubt- 

 edly once the shells of marine 

 animals, mixed with a proportion 

 of sand. It sometimes also con- 

 tains a mixture of moss and decay- 

 ed wood. 



This marie is usually found un- 

 der moss, or peat, in low sunken 

 parts of the earth ; and especially 

 those which are nigh to the sea, 

 or considerable rivers. Mr. Mills 

 says, "Whoever finds this marie 

 finds a mine of great value. It is 

 one of the best and most general 

 manures in nature ; proper for all 

 soils, and particularly so for clay." 

 This sort of marie, as well as the 

 other, may be easily found by bor- 

 ing. It has been son)etimes dis- 

 covered by ant hills, as these in- 

 sects bring up some small pieces 

 of shells from their holes. One 



would think that this country 

 must be furnished as plentifully 

 as any other with this kind of 

 marie ; whether we suppose the 

 beds to have been formed by the 

 general deluge, by the raging of 

 the sea and inundations since that 

 great event, or by the shifting of 

 the beds of rivers. 



The goodness of this marie de- 

 pends upon the shells, which are 

 the principal, and sometimes al- 

 most the whole that it contains. 

 It is much of the nature of lime, 

 and will go further than other 

 marie. It efi'ervesces strongly with 

 all acids. 



MARSH, according to Dr. John- 

 son, a fen, bog, or swamp. In this 

 country the word is used only to 

 signify flat land, bordering on the 

 sea, and lying so low as to be often 

 overflowed by the tides, when 

 they are fullest. 



Marshes are distinguished into 

 high marsh and low marsh. The 

 former bears a very short grass, 

 but in many places very thick ; the 

 latter produces a tall rank grass, 

 called thatch. Both these sorts of 

 grass are too highly impregnated 

 with salt to be a constant food for 

 cattle ; but the long grass is salter 

 than the short, as it is oftener wet- 

 ted with sea-water during its 

 growth. 



It is esteemed healthy for horses, 

 cattle, and sheep, to have some 

 of this sort of Sand in their pasture ; 

 or to be turned, now and then for 

 a few days, into a marsh. At least 

 it saves the trouble and expense 

 of giving them salt. In England, 

 it is thought to save sheep from 

 that fatal distemper, the rot. 



